Renewable Is Affordable

When we’re talking about the business we’re building around supplying energy from renewable sources to mines, it doesn’t usually take very long until some says: “Show me the money”. Challenge accepted. Here is a first glance. The International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) states that renewable power generation costs in 2015 were very affordable based on the costs of installed and proposed projects around the globe.

What is clear is that all utility-scale renewable energy technologies come in below $0.25 and with that at a significantly cheaper USD/kWh price than diesel-fired generation. From a cost point of view, integrating renewable energy at low penetration in an off-grid situation to achieve costs savings should be a no-brainer!

Where electricity systems are dominated by fossil-fuel based plants, wind, biomass, hydro and geothermal offer cost competitive and often cheaper options. While solar PV and CSP are still somewhat more expensive, the trends (illustrated elsewhere in the report) are clear. Across the spectrum, prices for PV panels have been cut in half over the last two years – a trend that is difficult to imagine for fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

More than $35 million in grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects

More than 60 programs on the federal, provincial or municipal level finance renewable energy or energy efficiency projects in Canada, granting more than $35 million to individual projects. Eligible projects range from energy audits, pre-feasibility studies through detailed business plans and energy concepts to the construction of renewable energy systems or the implementation of an integrated ISO 50,001 management system.